A Piece Of My Life (Captain Swan)

Chapter 10

Emma woke up around nine in the morning. Hook had an appointment at ten so they needed to get going. She looked down at his peaceful, sleeping form and was torn. When he was awake, it seemed that either things hurt, he was sick, or was sad, on the other side, when he was asleep, nothing hurt and he was at peace.

Despite all that, she still leaned down and kissed his forehead and ran her fingers through his messy hair. "Time to wake up, you have an appointment soon," she whispered.

He groaned, "I don't want to go, lass."

"Come on, it won't be as bad as last time."

His eyes opened finally and he looked at her, "Whatever you say."

Emma rolled off the bed and made a quick cup of coffee while Killian got up. "Ready?" She asked a few moments later.

He nodded and they went down to her car together. Being early, she made a quick stop at her house to change.

-)(-

"Alright, that just about does it, hun. How are you feeling?" It was a new nurse today, an older, almost grandmotherly type woman without the grey hair. He name was Sybella. She had just finished removing Killian's IV that had been injecting the chemotherapy and was now checking his vitals.

Emma was sitting on one of the hard plastic chairs reading a book. He had been sleeping until just a few minutes ago and she was trying to finish the chapter. Of course, she set the book down immediately when Hook groaned and instead she grabbed one of the small grey tubs to put under his mouth. Emma helped him into a sitting position and grimaced when he began heaving. "Just breathe," Emma said softly when he started gasping for breath. He settled as she rubbed his back and then helped him lay back down. Sybella took the grey bucket to empty and clean. 

She looked to Emma, "Is it always like this?" Emma nodded and looked sympathetically to Hook who was lying back with his eyes closed; his face was white. "He seems to be having a stronger reaction than normal to the drugs. I'll talk to the doctor. Until then, you can go home, of course." 

-)(-

She took him home and the next week was a varying degree of the same thing. Every other day she would take him to the hospital for a few hours, he'd feel awful, he'd barely talk, and she'd either sleep on his couch or go home for the night. . 

The week after that, Henry came to stay with her for the week, so Hook was mostly on his own. She'd stop by in the morning after Henry went to school and then after he had gone to bed. 

Three weeks after Hook's first chemotherapy appointment, Dr. Whale called her, but she missed it so she went on to check her voicemail. 

"Emma, it's Dr. Whale. I'm just calling to inform you, that the tumor has shrunk slightly and we would like to operate tomorrow. The surgery does have its risks with how large this tumor is, but I think we can pull it off. Call if you have any questions."

-)(-

Knock. Knock. Her knuckles gently tapped the room at Granny's.

Killian opened the door with a grimace; it seemed to have taken over his trademark smirk. His hair had begun falling out and there were large patches on his head without any hair. The treatment had really worn him out, Dr. Whale acknowledged that he was having an intense reaction to the drugs, but decided that he would get the most benefit out of them more than any other drug. As per usual, his skin was pale and his eyes were dull, they lacked any hint of spark they once contained. 

"I heard the news, tomorrow huh?" She confirmed upon entering the room.

Killian nodded and walked behind her. Stepping over a pair of shoes, she went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.